Yummy in Every Language

Follow Me!

Contact Me

Friday, January 28, 2011

Oh, wow. Loooong time no post.Life gets busy with an infant around! I've still been cooking and trying new recipes once in a while, I just haven't been getting around to blogging about it.This week I saw some salted cod at the local market. Salted cod (Bacalhau) is a Portuguese staple and it's not so easy to find in grocery stores so I was very excited when I found it. My Portuguese hubby really seems to appreciate it when I make Portuguese dishes for him.When I bought the fish, I didn't really realize what a hassle it would be to make it! I had to soak the cod fish for 24+ hours and change the water every 3 hours (or whenever I remembered).It was definitely a time consuming dish but it turned out quite nice! Very similar to the bolinhos de Bacalhau that I've had in Brazil and Portugal.Bolinhos de Bacalhau Recipe

Ingredients:

- 18 oz. Bacalhau (Dried, salted Cod)

- 4 peppercorns

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 small onion, quartered

- 2 cups cooled mashed potatoes

- 2 beaten eggs- 2 tbsp. chopped green onions

- 2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley

- oil for frying

Recipe:

Place salted cod in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Place in refrigerator and soak for 24 or more hours, changing water every 3 hours or so.

Drain and cut the cod into small pieces.

In a pot, combine 2 cups water, peppercorns, bay leaf and onion quarters. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add cod and 2 cups cold water. Return to a simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Drain cod, discarding spices and onion. In large bowl and using a fork, flake the cod. Stir in mashed potato, eggs, green onion and parsley. Let mixture stand for a half hour before forming fritters.

Form cod mixture into balls. In batches, fry for 4 minutes or until golden. Drain on paper towels.

Monday, November 22, 2010

"This place convinced me the Chicago red hot is, in fact, superior to the New York hot dog. And it's home to two great innovations in American gastronomy: the "foie gras dog" and the weekends-only practice of cooking French fries in duck fat. It's proof that food doesn't have to be expensive to be great." ~Anthony BourdainAnthony Bourdain declares that Hot Doug's is one place you need to go eat before you die. This place has been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel numerous times, that's how much this place is hyped up.As a foodie who just moved to Chicago, I just had to try it.This little hot dog joint is not exactly in a convenient location, it's kind of on the outskirts of the city. We got there on a Monday morning when the doors opened at 10:30. I got to order my hot dog without any wait, but within minutes there was a line out the door.The restaurant has a retro feel to it and has lots of hot dog memorabilia all over the walls. It's a lot of fun to look around at the silly decorations.The menu is pretty hilarious with items like "The Keira Knightley" (a spicy hot dog) or "The Elvis" (smoked and savory) or "The Salma Hayek" (a really really spicy hot dog).I opted for "The Dog," a classic Chicago Dog with tomato, pickle, and celery salt. It as a good, solid hot dog for $1.75. mmmmmmmmm.I wasn't allowed to eat processed meat while pregnant so hot dogs were at the top of my list of things I wanted to eat once my baby was out! I honestly missed eating hot dogs more than sushi... haha.Hot Doug's3324 North California AvenueChicago, IL 60618-5848(773) 279-9550

Friday, November 19, 2010

Now that we've settled into our new home in Chicago and Hubby is starting to get used to his new job, I've been cooking more. Lately, I've been packing a bento box for Hubby's lunch everyday. Bentos are so much fun and I plan on continuing to experiment with Hubby's lunches! :)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

I hate to let food go to waste, so I started panicking when I saw my extra ripe bananas. I didn't want to eat the mushy things so I decided to make banana muffins with a little twist.I'm not a huge banana bread fan, but chocolate makes everything taste so much better!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Sorry I've been M.I.A from this blog. I've been missing because I just gave birth to my baby girl!!! She is one month old tomorrow. Life has been busy busy with the new baby and we've been packing up everything because we are moving to Chicago in just a few more weeks. I'm at a changing point in my life with the new family addition, a new job for hubby, new city, and hopefully lots of new friends! I promise many more foodie updates once we settle down. I'm excited to try new recipes, explore the farmers market in our new neighborhood, and try a bunch of new restaurants once we move!xoxo

Friday, July 16, 2010

I'm 9 months pregnant right now and due any day. I'm so tired of being pregnant and feel more than ready to meet our little girl.Yesterday, hubby and I decided to go on one last grown up date before our baby arrives and the two of us make three! We wanted to go to a romantic place with good food that was close to home so we decided to have an early dinner at Craft (which is walking distance from our house). It was my first time trying this place and I was thoroughly impressed! If you watch "Top Chef" you know Tom Colicchio, and I was excited to hear that he is the chef/owner of this beautiful restaurant with spectacular food. First off this restaurant gives quite a few freebies! Yes, I said FREE. When you sit down at the table they bring you a free amuse bouche (bite-sized hors d’œuvres). The amuse bouche of the day was a cool cucumber soup with crèmefraiche, which was light and a perfect way to start our meal.

For my drink I had a virgin cocktail: strawberry ginger beer with mint. It didn't have any alcohol in it but tasted like a real cocktail so I was happy! :) Everything here is served "family style" so we ordered a few dishes to share. I loooooved the potatoes gratin. I know it's not a complicated dish, but damn... how did they make it so good? The cheese on top was so crispy and fragrant. And there was a perfect amount of cream and garlic. yummmm.We also had the mixed mini lettuce salad with radishes (which I forgot to take a photo of). The dressing and pickled radishes were so fresh and tasty. Another appetizer we ordered was the Anson Mills grits & cheddar. It was simple and went well with our main course.For the main course: braised beef short ribs that just melt in your mouth! So soft, tender, and with the perfect amount of sauce. It doesn't look that appetizing in the photo but it was divine!For dessert amuse bouche they served us a hazel nut pannacotta which was so creamy and yummy. I felt the need to indulge a little more since this would be our last fancy dinner in a long time so I also ordered dessert after all that food!

I ordered the corn crepes with corn ice cream and blueberries. I thought this dessert dish sounded really interesting and promising but honestly it wasn't very good. Hubby and I didn't even eat half of this dessert. It tasted like frozen corn soup and it just didn't taste like dessert. There was cream corn or something inside the crepes and it was weird... I was disappointed in this dish but the freebies to come really made up for it.Let me just say that the service here was stellar. The waitress was really attentive and brought a pillow for my back when she saw how pregnant I was. When we told her that we were due any day now, she brought out a chocolate cake at the end of the meal with a candle in it. (and wow was that cake good!)

After we paid the bill the waitress boxed up MORE of our freedessert for us because we couldn't possibly eat any more! These amuse bouche desserts were an assortment of mini macrons, chocolate cherry truffles, and white chocolate cookies. THEN they even gave us corn bread muffins to have for breakfast the next morning. The freebies were just out of control! And I loved it.

Our last dinner as a childless couple was so special and we can't wait to meet our little girl soon!

Monday, June 21, 2010

My family threw me the most wonderful baby shower last weekend! It was a big shower with about 65 people. I had so much fun!!! I just wanted to share with you the wonderful food we had at our shower!My sister and I made our own "Edible Bouquets" in little plant pots. They turned out really cute and were a big hit. These are fun and easy to make and are great for parties and showers.The cupcakes were catered by a pastry chef and were cookies n' cream cupcakes. S0oo cute and sooo yummy!

We also had a gourmet taco truck catering company at the party. OMG. The tacos were so good. I highly recommend SOHO taco catering if you live in SoCal.

Not just the food, but the company, decorations, and games were all so perfect! Our baby shower was spectacular and is something I will never forget.